1. Field of the Invention
The invention concerns a mouse pad support or auxiliary table rotatably attached at the end of a swivel arm, in turn attached on a vertical swivel axis to an angularly fixed part of a keyboard support arm. The mouse pad table can be placed where desired in an arc around a keyboard, and is independent of any tilt of the keyboard platform. The table is coupled to the arm by an off-center rotational joint, such that rotation of the table changes the lateral spacing between the mouse pad and the keyboard, and can permit an overlap. The table can be mounted via a frictionally adjustable ball and socket to be locked at a tilt, if desired.
2. Prior Art
Computer work stations often have an associated pointing device such as a mouse or trackball that has a housing separate from the computer keyboard and is wired to the computer. In this disclosure, any such device is generally termed a mouse. A mouse provides a means for producing a two dimensional displacement signal that is used to control the position of a screen cursor as needed to highlight, move ("drag") or select ("click on") selected icons, text or the like, as well as for drawing and other uses. A typical mouse is movable over a surface or mouse pad for providing the signal and has one or more pushbuttons. The mouse must be manually accessible to the user of the work station.
A mouse is advantageously located closely adjacent to the computer keyboard so that the user can readily move his or her hand back and forth between the keyboard and the mouse. If the keyboard is on a table top, the mouse can be placed on the same work surface as the keyboard, to the right or left of the keyboard depending on the user's preference. Usually the mouse is moved over a plastic or fabric-faced mouse pad.
If the mouse pad is located too far from the keyboard or if the location is otherwise inaccessible, operation is inconvenient as the user alternates between use of the keyboard and use of the mouse. Advantageously, the user should be able to switch back and forth without even looking at either of the mouse and the keyboard.
Where the keyboard is on a desk surface, a mouse pad can be placed immediately alongside the keyboard. Often, however, the keyboard is carried on a movable keyboard support with a platform on a keyboard support arm attached under the desk top so that the keyboard can be moved as needed. A keyboard support arm may freely or frictionally or controllably fix the keyboard, usually set on a keyboard support platform, at any desired elevation in a range (especially below the level of the work surface), forward or backward relative to the edge of the work surface, and/or at a selected degree of tilt forward or backward and/or laterally. Adjustments in the keyboard support position produce problems with respect to where the mouse pad is located and how the mouse is used.
Often there is insufficient room on the keyboard support platform to fit both a keyboard and a mouse pad. The keyboard substantially encompasses the platform, whereas a mouse pad encompasses, for example, about 20 by 25 cm of area in which the mouse can be moved about. It is known to provide an auxiliary table to support a mouse pad or to function as a mouse pad, and to attach the auxiliary table to the keyboard platform so the mouse pad is carried along with the keyboard when the keyboard platform is repositioned. For example, the keyboard platform can have a drawer-like laterally extendible mouse pad panel located below the keyboard. An auxiliary panel or table can be mounted to the keyboard platform by a telescoping rod that can be locked at a particular position using a thumbscrew, etc.
These solutions are not as convenient as they might be, because repositioning the keyboard platform in certain desirable ways such as forward/rearward tilting, also repositions the mouse pad in ways that are not desirable. For example, tilting the keyboard platform also tilts the mouse pad and can cause the mouse to slide off the mouse pad. It is possible, for example with a telescoping rod structure, to readjust the mouse pad after moving the keyboard, but this is inconvenient and may require that the mouse be removed until the mouse pad is repositioned after the keyboard is moved.
A mouse pad preferably is fixed substantially horizontally at or slightly above the elevation of the keyboard. The mouse pad is located adjacent to the keyboard, such as along an arc around the user's elbow having a radius equal to the length of the forearm. This permits the user to switch quickly between the keyboard and the mouse. Nevertheless, users differ in size, left or right-handedness and their various preferences. A right handed user may wish temporarily to operate a mouse with the left hand, for example when operating a numeric keypad with the right hand. As a result, some adjustability is advantageous. What is needed is to provide a mouse pad support that is versatile and convenient to adjust to fit the size and preferences of an individual user, but at the same time minimizes the need for readjustments.